NEVER in my life have I seen a dress SO difficult to put on. SERIOUSLY!!??! I’m still mad at the dress manufacturer! It’s a tight slinky dress WITHOUT a zipper that you slide on over the top of your head and wiggle into. That’s hard enough when your hair and makeup weren’t just done to perfection. HOWEVER, it did make for some fantastically hilarious photos 🙂

I love me a wacky bride who wears non-white shoes!

While Laura was slinkying her way into a zipperless dress… Chad was doing this…

and this 😀

They did a first sight where they exchanged gifts. Laura wrote something that I’m sure was perfect in every way while Chad gave Laura a necklace that she’s been coveting. 🙂 She said, “I love that you pay attention to me and knew that I wanted this… it means the world” or something like that…

It was a VERY hot June day and we didn’t think it was a great idea to sweat all of the hair and makeup off. So, we stayed inside and shot a few portraits in her parents AWESOME home.

Laura, you have an awesome smile.

Love everything about this.

Laura’s mom is a part of a singing group called the “King’s Daughters”.  These women haven’t sang together in many many MANY years… but, for Laura and Chad’s wedding… they reunited. I get chills thinking about it. Their singing is incredible. I mean, INCREDIBLE! I felt like I was on the set of “O Brother Where Art Thou” listening to Allison Krauss singing “Down to the River to Pray” GOOOOSEBUMP CENTRAL!!!!

I love this guy. Don’t you want to be his friend and listen to his stories? I do. 🙂

Back in May a groomsman accused me of “not being creative” because all I do is “line people up at the altar and never do anything cool”. When I mentioned this on twitter/facebook someone sarcastically suggested that I try the “ring of flowers around the brides face” photo… as that’s the DEFINITION of creative! 😀 When I asked her to do it for the sake of my own amusement… THIS …was the face she made. How’s THIS for creative Mr. Groomsman?! Thanks for being such a great sport Laura… 🙂

Gorgeous smiles & bokeh… what more do I need?!

For me, this photo is perfection. Laura and Chad… canvas… above your bed… k? It’s my favorite ❗

They did a fake out move with their first dance. When the song first started it was “The Growing Pains” theme song… they boogied. 😀 It then switched to something more expected… they danced and I took this 😉 

The bouquet only made it 4 feet… as in… it didn’t reach the bridesmaids.  It was funny 🙂 HOWEVER, when this little lady picked it up… here was her reaction. best.bouquet.reaction… EVER!

Mike’s favorite ❓

 

……………………………

richmond, ind.

wedding planner | Bobbi Kuperwicz (Reception) Kimber Klingman (Ceremony)
hair | Marty Pence, Bride’s Aunt, Owner of Exceeding Limits in Leo, Indiana
makeup | Kiralee
florist | Flowers By Carla
church | First Presbyterian Church
reception  | The Stoller Home
cake | Cinnamon Spice Bakery
piano player | Tom Walker< br />dog trainer | Joetta Risner of JCDT (Joetta’s Compassionate Dog Training)
dress | “Yolanda” by Claire Pettibone
tuxes | Skeffington’s

……………………………

 

their songs:

processional: “So Are You To Me” –Eastmountainsouth
recessional: “Wonderful World” –Fisher
first dance: 1) “As Long as We’ve Got Each Other” (the themesong from Growing Pains) –Bobby Morganstein   2)  “We Are One” –Kelly Sweet

 

laura+chad:

What was the most memorable moment of your day?
laura: hardest question EVER. Acting like a kid on Christmas morning while waiting for Bobbi and Mike to arrive. Seeing the FJ in the driveway and running out to greet Bobbi.  Getting ready with my mom, aunt Marty, Kiralee and Bobbi.  Meeting Chad in the library. Chad’s gift to me (A Lisa Leonard necklace!!!) Kelley coming downstairs before the ceremony.  Artie being the ring bearer.  Seeing Chad at the end of the aisle.  Putting the band on Chad’s finger (I got him!). Getting fun pictures taken around my parent’s house. My dad handing out cool rags to the hot guests…such a wonderful example of his character.  Seeing all of the people who braved the heat to share our day with us.  My mom and dad’s speech.  My matron of honor’s speech. My matron of honor’s awesomeness.  My mom’s beauty.  My brothers.  My bridesmaids. My Chad.
chad: Going into the wedding, I knew that the experience of seeing Laura walk down the aisle would be powerful. But I was shocked by the authentic and overwhelming feelings that moved me to tears. I had to focus on holding myself together because I was overcome with such intense and surreal emotion.  The processional song was particularly moving as I heard it in the context of that moment and I felt like I was hearing it again for the first time.

What was your favorite detail?
Photo stamps from Zazzle.com for our invitations. The pearl pins in my hair. My shoes and purse dyed to match the flower in my dress. The guest favors that Chad and I made together. Bobbi and Mike engagement pictures scattered in frames throughout the reception.

Funniest memory from your wedding day?
The immediate obedience of Artie when Joetta was handling him.  The pathetic bouquet toss that traveled about four feet. Rachel crying down the aisle.  The awkwardness of the cake cutting, which we had completely forgotten to plan for.  The physical awkwardness during our first dance – how can you really dance to a TV theme song?  Rachel screaming at the guests waiting outside the church that “NOTHING IS HAPPENING HERE!”

Any advice for future brides/grooms?
laura: Stay organized. Hire a wedding coordinator. Marry someone like Chad. Don’t underestimate the power of Spanx. Say “thank you” a million times to all of the people who put so much time, effort and money into your event. Don’t obsess about small things – it’s not about the program font, it’s about the marriage. (Unless it’s Comic Sans, in which case you need to reconsider) Stay in the moment as much as possible. Hire Bobbi and Mike. Don’t obsess about how your wedding day  “should be.” Let it be what it is, and accept anything that happens as the experience you were meant to have.  If it rains, buy a cute umbrella. If you break your arm, make a cute picture on the cast. See the humor in the unexpected.
chad: If you’re getting married in the Midwest, plan for an early spring or fall wedding when the weather is cooler. Frequently contact vendors to make sure they are still in business. (Our first florist closed two weeks before the wedding without telling us!)

If you could do it all over, would you change anything?
Plan for more time with guests at the reception!

What was your favorite wedding purchase?
laura: Bobbi and Mike, Kiralee and my dress- God bless Claire Pettibone, I love that dress with everything in me.
chad: The bridal party gifts- personalized M&M’s with their faces on them.

Where did you go on your honeymoon?
We stayed at the Stonecliffe Inn on Mackinac Island. It was AMAZING. Highly recommended.

What was your favorite thing about bobbi+mike? (for the record, they added this question, not me!)
Bobbi and Mike were integral to the enjoyment and experience of the whole day.  We felt totally comfortable with them, we knew that they had everything under control, and they organized people with amazing skill.  They aren’t just capturing the day through photography, they are part of the day with their energy, love, and general awesomeness. Wow Laura… I don’t even know what to say now. I’m blown away by this. thank you thank you thank you. 🙂

 

 

bobbi+mike:

our favorites: 1) when Laura came running at us at FULL SPEED through the driveway carrying the above canvas over her head when we first arrived. 2) seeing Kiralee. Oh how I adore her. I said to her… “I think it’s time for “Operation Grow Back Eyebrows” to come to a conclusion” to which she responded, “Uhm… yeah… it’s time…” Maybe you had to be there, it was hilarious to me. 3) Seeing Laura’s excitement for all things wedding. 4) Laura slinkying her way into her dress… messing up her hair, makeup… and all while laughing at herself.  Not to worry… team bride to the rescue 🙂 5) Their first site. 6) The King’s Daughters singing during the ceremony. 7) the receiving line (usually it’s my least favorite part of the day to photograph… but Laura and Chad’s guests were just so animated and cute… I was having a blast!) 8) The shuttle drive from the  church to the Stoller home… these bridesmads make me laugh. 🙂 9) The first dance was ridiculously sweet… and seeing the bridesmaids watch with tears in their eyes. 10) the bouquet toss was HILARIOUS! 11) the emotion contest with Laura. (more on that soon) 12) reading the answers to the blog questionnaire (above) and finally 13) playing “bobbi trivia” with Angie who said she was the biggest fan ever. I’ll go ahead and confirm… she is 😀 Angie made me feel like a million buckarooobies.  I named her the president of the bb+mk fan club. I mean… if there were one. 🙂 There she is… on the right 😀

MUCH love friends… MUUUUCHHH LOVE!!!!!

~bobbi+mike

Sometimes while I’m taking photos… I pose too. It’s weird.

OH HOW DAPPER!

pay no mind to the photographer in the corner… she’s blending….

HA!Maybe some of you remember the “emotion contest” I had in May at Ellen and Brian’s wedding. WELLLL… I knew that Laura would be goooood competition for me. SO, I challenged her. Here’s how it went down. 1) angry. 2) overly joyed. 3) sad. 4) constipated. Now, when I look at these… I think I won. HOWEVER, the bridesmaids said that she won. I think it was just because she was the bride. Bride schmide… a contest is a contest!!!! SO… tell us blog readers, WHO WON?! 

❗ + ❓